Sledgehammer
by GinevraXO
Summary: War makes people react in unusual ways. Sometimes it brings out your best qualities, sometimes it brings out your worst, and sometimes when you're really fighting for survival, it makes you take every chance you might ever get. Rated M to be safe, due to language and location.


I haven't written anything in a little while and then out of nowhere, this happened.

I'm more than happy to admit that this has to be about the crackiest HP crackship around, which started with a late night conversation with a friend, but there is literally nothing I love more than these pair at the moment. I've privately written hundreds of versions of Daphne over the years, but I can't deny the chemistry between her and pureblood!Cormac, because there's no two people more suited than these two flawed characters.

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**Disclaimer:** All characters from here on forwards belong to JK Rowling. The song 'Sledgehammer' belongs to Fifth Harmony and has been played on repeat for three days so I could get this finished and edited quickly. As far as I'm aware the basic idea of the story is mine, but I don't read much fanfiction from the golden trio's era.

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_If you could take my pulse right now, it would feel just like a sledgehammer._  
_If you could feel my heart beat now, it would hit you like a sledgehammer._  
**[Sledgehammer - Fifth Harmony]**

-:-

She had not seen another person in almost 15 minutes but Daphne knew that the war was still raging because the floor still shook beneath her feet. She was hiding alone in a classroom where a gaping hole with crumbling edges had been blown in the wall that ran alongside the corridor. She now had her back pressed against the wall beside the hole, in the hope of not being seen.

She almost thought the footsteps were her imagination when she first heard them. Listening carefully, she could tell that whoever it was was fast and nimble and heading in her direction. Whoever it was was dodging the rubble underfoot and would be nearby shortly.

Leaning forwards slightly to see who it was, she saw Cormac round the corner, skidding on the dust. He had his wand grasped in his hand and he kept looking over his shoulder. He looked although he was being chased and Daphne knew that she just had to do something to help him.

Readying her wand in her hand, she leaned out of the gap enough to extend the other hand towards him, exposing her hiding place. She hoped the enemy wasn't lurking behind the wall, watching and waiting, ready to torture and kill her like they had done with so many of her school friends. She hoped Cormac would guess who it was that was trying to help him and that he wouldn't attack.

So when a hand slid into hers a moment later, Daphne hoped for the best as she dragged the person through the gap.

It _was_ Cormac, and he looked surprised.

"Daphne!"

She grinned, leaning into him to wrap her arms around him tightly. Daphne was glad to see a friendly face in the middle of the chaos. She was so happy to know that he was safe for the moment, and then she remembered where they were and what was going on.

Stepping back from him, her back hit the wall again, a frown marring her pretty features. She was about to shout and scream at him to get out of here. He wasn't a student anymore, so he shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be fighting this battle.

"You shouldn't be h.."

Cormac cut her sentence short by pressing his hand over her mouth. She wanted to bite him until she realised why he'd done it. There were two sets of footsteps getting louder and closer, confirming that Cormac was being chased. Shrinking back as far as she could into the wall, she could tell by their steps that they were nowhere near swift on their feet as Cormac had been. She thought about how she wouldn't have been able to save him had they been following him closer, making her blood run cold.

Without a second thought, Daphne reached forward and grabbed his jumper, pulling him against her, closer to the wall, and hopefully out of sight. It felt like eternity before the footsteps started to fade away, and she didn't realise she had been holding her breath.

Cormac let his hand drop away from her face but made no effort to step away from her.

"I've been looking for you." Cormac said, his voice low, his eyes glancing at the hole in the wall.

"So? I'm more interested in why the fuck you are here? You could get killed!" Daphne practically spat, her voice low as well. "Scratch that, you almost did! I just saved your damn life!"

"You could get killed too you know!" Cormac retorted, looking down at her. There was stone dust and ash smeared across her cheek, and her honey blonde hair was starting to stick to the cut above her eyebrow.

Daphne shook her head, unable to be angry at him any longer. Cormac was her best friend and her hero. He'd helped her so many times and she couldn't live without him. She was in love with him and he hadn't got a clue. Although she knew the aim of the night was to survive, the thought that she might not made her emotions rise up inside her chest.

"I suppose I'm glad you're alive, you idiot." She uttered, grinning up at him. His hair was covered in dust and there was a scorch mark on the arm of his jumper, but he looked like he was in one piece. "I'd never forgive myself if I died and didn't get to do this."

Pushing herself up onto the balls of her feet, her eyes staring into his intently, she pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth. It didn't take long for him to realise what she was inviting him to do. Pushing his free hand into her hair, he found himself kissing her hard. Cormac felt his stomach flip as she looped her arms around his neck and Daphne's eyes fluttered shut as she kissed him back. There was a desire and urgency in the kiss that neither of them had ever felt before and her mind blanked, causing her to forgot where she was.

She was in the middle of a war.

A loud bang and the shuddering walls around them dragged them back into the moment. There were people nearby because she could hear an ear-splitting scream. A scream that made Daphne gasp at how it reverberated around her bones.

"So I have to be close to death for you to tell me how you really feel?" Cormac asked softly, his eyes alternating between watching her and watching the hole in the wall.

"I know it's not the right time for it but I'm in love with you." Daphne nodded, a new fire lit in her soul. "And if you can promise me that we'll get out of this alive, I'll love you for all eternity, McLaggen."

A smile broke out across his face as he stared at her for a moment. It wasn't until a single set of footsteps echoing around the walls caused him to glance back at the corridor and narrow his eyes. Daphne watched as he raised his wand in preparation. From where she was standing, it almost looked although he had a new reason to fight.

Hearing the person round the corner, Daphne felt Cormac tense up, answering the question about who it was. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Cormac had already reacted to the enemy, leaning past her to point his wand through the gap in the stone wall. His action was followed by a dull thudding sound that Daphne could only guess was the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"There will be more coming this way soon, so we need to fight."

Cormac's voice was low again and had a tone of seriousness to it. The chaos of the evening and his new found fighting spirit was bringing out the best in him. It was bringing out his courage and his daring. "We'll leave here and run towards the Quidditch pitch. If you see any Death Eaters, use whatever spells you can, and if I get left behind for whatever reason, I'll meet you at the destination, okay?"

Daphne nodded once, before kissing him for the last time. Her heart was beating like a sledgehammer against her rib cage.

"Ready?" She whispered, as she raised her wand.

"As I'll ever be, Queenie." Cormac whispered back, using his free hand to reach for hers. "And if I don't get out alive, I love you too."

Daphne smiled as she took a deep breath, letting him lead her into the corridor, the pair of them taking off into a run almost immediately. The eerie quiet unnerved her but his hand reminded her that it would was okay.

As they reached the staircases, the silence started to melt away and the sound of footsteps started up again. Glancing around, Daphne spotted a lone Death Eater dashing out from the direction they had just come from.

Spinning on the spot to face their pursuer, she felt Cormac's hand slip away from hers and without hesitation, she reacted. Lurching toward the robed figure and away from Cormac, Daphne slashed her wand through the air, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"


End file.
